Please Buy This Necklace

Sunglasses at night are always an appropriate fashion statement for downtown Manhattan ... and they came in handy last Thursday night as the paparazzi glare flashed outside the opening night party for the new Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED flagship store on lower Broadway. Gossip Girl's Blake Lively (right) made an appearance (as well as a cross-section of other glamorous types) to unveil a limited edition necklace (below), 100 percent of the proceeds of which benefit charity: water.

As you probably know, Swarovski is the gold standard of crystals, but it still includes plenty of affordable pieces in its collection (like the charity necklace, which is $88.) If you like some sparkle but can't afford diamonds, these crystal designs are a great alternative. And if you're looking for something really unique, Soho's new CRYSTALLIZED store is the country's only Swarovski boutique that sells loose crystals for customizing, as well as ready-to-wear jewelry.

Choosing charity: water as the beneficiary of this necklace's proceeds wasn't arbitrary: water power is a key component in producing Swarovski's crystals, so it was a natural fit.

Photo courtesy of Jame McCarthy for Wire Image